Unbeaten heavyweights Joseph Parker (21-0, 18 KOs) and Andy Ruiz Jr (29-0, 19 KOs) will fight for the vacant WBO title on December 10 at the Vector Arena in Parker’s native New Zealand.
Parker, who is the WBO’s number-one ranked heavyweight, has already fought four times this year, including outpointing Carlos Takam and knockout wins over Solomon Haumono and Alexander Dimitrenko, and he will have home advantage when he fights the 27-year-old Mexican, in the first ever heavyweight title clash…
Pacquiao easily outpoints Vargas to regain world title
Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) scored a unanimous decision over defending champion Jessie Vargas (27-2, 10 KOs) to regain the WBO welterweight title on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, who returned to boxing after taking seven months off to focus on his job as a newly elected politician in the Philippine Senate, showed no signs of ring rust as he dropped and dominated Vargas on the way to winning by scores of 118-109, 118-109 and 114-113.
After a mostly…
Zeuge dethrones De Carolis with 12th round TKO
Unbeaten super middleweight Tyron Zeuge (19-0-1, 11 KOs) stopped defending WBA champion Giovanni De Carolis (24-7-1, 12 KOs) in the 12th round of their rematch on Saturday night at the MBS Arena in Potsdam, Germany.
Italian De Carolis retained his world 168lb title with a majority draw when the two met in July, but Zeuge scored a dramatic late stoppage to win their second meeting.
De Carolis pressed the action for the first nine rounds and landed hard shots to the head and body. But by the…
Ovill McKenzie retires from boxing
Former world title challenger Ovill McKenzie (25-12-1, 13 KOs) has announced his retirement from boxing after being diagnosed with a heart condition.
The 36-year-old McKenzie, a British, Commonwealth and WBA intercontinental champion, has not fought since drawing with Argentine Victor Emilio Ramirez when he challenged for the IBF cruiserweight title in Buenos Aires in October 2015.
“It is with great sadness that I announce that I am retiring from boxing. I have been diagnosed with a heart…
Anthony Joshua to fight Eric Molina on December 10
IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs) will fight Eric Molina (25-3, 19 KOs) on December 10 at the Manchester Arena.
The 27-year-old Briton won the IBF title when he knocked out Charles Martin in the second round in April and defended the belt aganist Dominic Breazeale, scoring a seventh-round TKO win in June.
Joshua was hoping to fight former world champion Wladimir Klitschko next, but the plans were pushed back to next year in order to allow more time to finalize and promote…
Terry Flanagan to defend against Orlando Cruz on November 26
WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan (31-0, 12 KOs) will fight Puerto Rican challenger Orlando Cruz (25-4-1, 13 KOs) on November 26 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
The 27-year-old Manchester fighter is coming off a unanimous points win over South African Mzonke Fana in July, also in Cardiff, and he will defend his world title for the fourth time on the undercard of Billy Joe Saunders’ WBO middleweight title defence against Artur Akavov.
Cruz, 35, who was stopped by Orlando Salido…
Five top fight cards announced
American television network Showtime has announced the following five top fight cards that will take place from December to March 2017.
WBA featherweight champion Carl Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs) will meet former three-weight world champion Leo Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs) in a rematch on January 28 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Northern Ireland’s Frampton won the title with a points decision over Santa Cruz in a fight of the year candidate in July to become a two-weight world champion.
Also on the…
Klitschko injury rules him out of Joshua clash
Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs) has suffered an injury that will rule him out of a world title fight against Britain’s Anthony Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs) in December.
Joshua, who is scheduled to defend his IBF title at the Manchester Arena on December 10, will face a replacement opponent after Klitschko’s injury, reported to be to his calf.
The IBF champion was ready to fight the Ukrainian after Tyson Fury pulled out off his rematch with Klitschko and vacated the WBA…
Bernard Hopkins to face Joe Smith in final fight
Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) will end his 28-year boxing career with a farewell fight against light heavyweight contender Joe Smith (22-1, 18 KOs) on December 17 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Hopkins, 51, turned pro in 1988 after a four and a half year prison sentence for armed robbery and went on to dominate the middleweight division for a decade, making a record 20 consecutive title defences before suffering back-to-back points defeats to Jermain Taylor in 2005.
The American…
Bellew flattens Flores in three, then calls out David Haye
WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew (28-2-1, 18 KOs) stopped BJ Flores (32-3-1, 20 KOs) by KO on Saturday night at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.
Bellew dropped Flores three times in the second round and finished him with another knockdown in the third, the same round in which Bellew won his world title against Ilunga Makabu last May. Flores had never previously been stopped.
In the opening session, Flores was landing his jab and shots to head and body, but the champion finished the round…